Tz'utujil - Settlements

The great majority of Tz'utujil live either in one of seven
municipalidades
or in one of the satellite hamlets (
aldeas
and
caseríos
) surrounding those larger centers. Listed in clockwise order, the
Tz'utujil municipalidades lining the shore of Lake Atitlán
are San Lucas Tolimán, Santiago Atitlán, San Pedro la
Laguna, San Juan la Laguna, and San Pablo la Laguna. In addition Santa
María Visitación is situated in the mountains to the west
of the lake and Chicacao in the piedmont region to the south. Differing
from Guatemala's common "vacant center" towns, in
which residents tend to return from more permanent habitations in the
surrounding mountains and valleys only on market days and fiestas,
Tz'utujil towns are of the "town nucleus"
configuration, in which residency is characterized by permanent
inhabitation. Until the mid-twentieth century dwellings in most
Tz'utujil towns were comprised of a rectangular stone wall of
about a meter in height upon which rested a secondary lashed-cane wall
extending to ceiling height. The roof of this earthquake-resistant
structure was constructed of wooden beams and grass thatch. Although
these structures are still to be seen, population pressure and the
resulting necessity to construct multistoried dwellings, combined with
the new earthquake-resistant materials (particularly cement block and
reinforcing steel rods) has led to a revolution in construction
techniques.